Axillary Lymphadenopathy Resolves at Mean 102 Days After COVID-19 Booster

WEDNESDAY, March 15, 2023 (HealthDay News) -- The time to resolution of axillary lymphadenopathy after the COVID-19 vaccine booster is 102 days, according to a study published online Feb. 27 in the American Journal of Roentgenology.

Eralda Mema, M.D., from Weill Cornell Medicine in New York City, and colleagues conducted a retrospective single-institution study of 54 patients with unilateral axillary lymphadenopathy ipsilateral to a booster dose of mRNA COVID-19 vaccine visualized on ultrasound performed between Sept. 1, 2021, and Dec. 31, 2022, who underwent follow-up until lymphadenopathy resolution.

Six of the patients had a history of breast cancer and two had symptoms related to the axillary lymphadenopathy (axillary pain). The researchers found that the lymphadenopathy resolved at a mean of 102 days after the booster dose and at 84 days after initial ultrasound. No significant associations were seen for age, vaccine booster type (Moderna versus Pfizer), or history of breast cancer with time to resolution in univariable or multivariable analyses. Time to resolution was significantly shorter after a booster dose compared with after the first dose of the initial series (mean, 129 days).

"Axillary lymphadenopathy after a booster dose of a COVID-19 vaccine required a mean of 102 days to show resolution on follow-up ultrasound examinations," the authors write. "This duration supports application in the setting of booster doses of the current recommendation for a follow-up interval of at least 12 weeks, as well as avoidance of screening mammography delays, for suspected vaccine-related lymphadenopathy."

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